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Attributed to John Drissel, (act. 1790–c. 1835), "Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch," Milford Town…
Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch
Attributed to John Drissel, (act. 1790–c. 1835), "Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch," Milford Town…
Attributed to John Drissel, (act. 1790–c. 1835), "Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch," Milford Township, Pennsylvania, 1799, Paint and ink on wood, 7 3/8 × 14 1/2 × 6 1/4", Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration, courtesy Katherine and Wilson Brazer, 58.13.38. Photo by John Parnell.
Record Details

Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch

Artist ((1762–1846))
Date1799
Place/RegionMilford Township, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumPaint and ink on wood
Dimensions7 3/8 × 14 1/2 × 6 1/4"
Credit LineGift of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration, courtesy Katherine and Wilson Brazer
Accession number58.13.38
CopyrightThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.
Description

This is one of a group of small boxes and tape looms that are inscribed with the names of young women who attended one of three schools operated in Pennsylvania by Lutheran schoolmaster Johann Adam Eyer. The Sara Hoch listed in Eyer's school register for 1786 may have been the recipient of this decorated wall-hung box. The boxes and tape looms were made and decorated by John Drissel, a son of a Mennonite carpenter who was living in Milford Township by 1787. The box is of dovetail construction and is decorated in paint in a calligraphic frakturlike style. The front is ruled in ink into five reserves, the central portion with Hoch's name and "Anno 1799" inscribed over a flower. A large compartment on either side contains a motif of a single closed tulip and a smaller flower and leaf design, the whole bordered by a single wavy line.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Hanging Wall Box for Sara Hoch," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 300.

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